Jessica's Wild Romance...is Not So Wild

I can usually make up my mind really quickly about whether or not I am enjoying an actor’s acting. Just five minutes of watching Gong Hyo-jin in Pasta made my eyes light up. In just a few episodes of Scent of A Woman, Kim Sun-ah made me cry half a dozen times. And it wasn’t long before Jung Il-woo provoked stitches of laughter from me in 49 Days. However, after having watched the entire 16 episodes of the recent drama Wild Romance, I have yet to sustain a solid understanding of Jessica Jung’s acting.

I can almost hear the ensuing protests, fretfully reminding me that Jessica is not a traditionally trained actress. She is an idol. Now, there is much to be said about idol actors and much of it — I won’t say. A lot of criticism launched against them can be negative, unwarrantably harsh even. Kim Hyun-joong experienced it after his sleep inducing performance in Boys Over Flowers. DBSK’s Changmin earned his share of criticism during his role in the atrocity that was Paradise Ranch. And while some people jump too quickly to critique idols by actors’ high standard because after all, they are willingly journeying through thespian territory, it doesn’t make sense to do so. But that’s not to say that Jessica cannot be evaluated by standards of her own. The girl’s got a bit of acting credentials.

Jessica has appeared on a few television shows, mainly playing herself in various cameos. In 2008, she appeared in UnstoppableMarriage, a daily sitcom that starred fellow SNSD group members Sooyoung and Yuri. She later made an appearance on Taehee, Hye Kyo, Jihyun with GG sister Sunny. The same year she landed the lead role of Elle Woods in the South Korean musical theatre adaptation of Legally Blonde, which lasted for over a year. But her role as Kang Jeong-hee in Wild Romance would be her first significant role in a television drama. The drama stars Lee Dong-wook (as Park Mu-yeol) and Lee Si-young (as Yoo Eun-jae) as the dumb baseball player and even dumber bodyguard. While the two actors play the one true pairing, Jessica takes the role of the obligatory ex-girlfriend who, after eight years abroad and a bout with schizophrenia, has come back into the picture hoping to regain the affections of her first love. The character, although sweet, straightforward, and fragile, also shows traits of selfishness and entitlement. The role would be an opportunity for Jessica to shine and show off the acting chops that she’d acquired on the stage.

But Jessica’s acting was limited to safe, bland facial expressions, over excessively cute manners of speaking, and a weak onscreen presence. Her acting, which would have been great for a music video, did not translate well into the K-dramaverse. Although she made an effort, she was not able to relay the emotions that the scenes called for. However, I do want to give credit where it’s due: she was not entirely terrible. In fact, how I feel about Jessica’s performance can be summed up by an exchange between Yoo Eun-jae and her friend Dong-ha about Kang Jeong-hee (Jessica’s character) in episode 13:

Yoo Eun-jae: Does someone who is loved become lovely? Or is it because someone is lovely that they are loved?

Dong-ha: Hm?

Yoo Eun Jae: I’m talking about Kang Jeong-hee. Sometimes I really can’t stand her. But then suddenly, she will become very lovely.

Sometimes, I really enjoyed Jessica’s acting. Other times, I was just plain confused. And here’s why, in my mind an idol actor possesses three identities:

The idol according to his/her persona. This is who we perceive the idol to be based on whether or not we like their music and appearances in the media and variety shows.

The idol as an actor. This is the person we see in the drama, and whom we evaluate based on their acting capabilities.

The idol as the character they are playing. In Jessica’s case, she plays Kang Jeong-hee, the ex-girlfriend of Park Mu-yeol and creation of drama writers.

Unfortunately for Jessica, those three identities blurred. So when her character smiled during moments that she shouldn’t have been smiling, I didn’t know if she didn’t understand those moments as an actress, if her character was just strange, or if she just liked to smile in general. Having played several cameo roles, it seemed she was uncomfortable playing a character, so reverted back to playing herself. I couldn’t tell where Jessica the person began and Kang Jeong-hee the character ended.

She also suffered the unfortunate situation of playing a character who was all-around confusing. I wasn’t sure whether the writers wanted us to love Kang Jeong-hee or hate her; feel sympathy for her or annoyance; want her to win the guy’s love or lose it. Her character was both likable and unlikable, which can be a problem for both the viewers and the actor.

Despite Jessica’s lukewarm performance and the confusing nature of the character, I believe that she did well in boosting Wild Romance’s low ratings. And I also believe that Jessica has a lot of potential; with some more experience in K-drama land, she’ll become more consistent and will be able to call herself one of the most bankable idol actors in the industry. For those of you who watched the drama, what did you think? Perhaps you enjoyed her performance? Did Jessica portray the character poorly or did she fall victim to terrible writing?

I personally felt that the whole drama was rather confusing and the characters rather bland

Anonymous

I only watched several clips of her parts, and I wasn’t really impressed with her acting. That part where she was supposed to act like having seizure (?).. meh.

And in my opinion, actually playing a character like Kang Jeong-hee is challenging. This character can be really confusing sometimes, but with good acting, Kang Jeong-hee can be a representative of a normal people (K-drama needs to stop exaggerating drama characters. I don’t believe that there’s actually someone who is pure evil or pure angel/naive/almost-can-be-called-dumb) in a drama.

Unfortunately, Jessica is still not up to that par yet.

Anonymous

i’ve only seen a couple episodes. but i honestly couldn’t tell if it was poor acting or her character was just written that way. however, i don’t think she has the charisma or oomph factor to carry a lead role in a movie/drama. i’m sure she’s much better in musicals though.

Wasn’t it her first that big role? I was quite surprised with her acting, cause she wasn’t really that bad for an idol. When we put her with outstanding, experienced actors and their rich expression she looked little bit poor and awkward, but if I compare her with Kim Hyun Joong, for example, that what she did was a really great job.
On the other side, her character was really annoying. I really thought that she played with Park Moo Yul like a five years old girl who doesn’t know which toy she wants to have. Like I said before Lee Dong Wook’s and especially Lee Si Young’s acting was the most enjoyable thing I had in drama from a really long time, but it doesn’t mean she isn’t good – if she wants act she ‘just’ has to work hard to improve herself as an actress.

Anonymous

” but if I compare her with Kim Hyun Joong, for example, that what she did was a really great job.”

disagree i found her only marginally less painful than KHJ
KHJ is the very bottom of the barrel even in terms of idol acting standards

“Wook’s and especially Lee Si Young’s acting was the most enjoyable thing I had in drama from a really long time,but it doesn’t mean she isn’t good – if she wants act she ‘just’ has to work hard to improve herself as an actress.”

It does mean she isnt good

Being an idol doesnt necessary mean you automatically cant act
Chosun from Tree with deep roots was also in an idol band
i would never have known it
cue Yoon Kye Sang , Yoon Eun Hye, Eric,

Than there are the middling ones like Eugene, and Sung Yuri

Compare them to Jessica

=.=

Anonymous

I think it is sad though that there is a growing influx of idols getting big parts in kdramas just because they have name recall already.

I’ve heard lots of actors are pursuing idol training to get into groups so that they can get into acting plus a lot of entertainment companies are creating their own groups to be able to debut their talents. This will lead to a degradation of talent in both sides, not to mention a over saturation of idol groups.

With a idol schedule its so hard for them to really prepare for a role, so in the end they just end up with the safest possible acting.

She wasn’t the best, and I don’t think anyone was expecting her to be so anyway, but she did acted much better than I ever saw Kim Hyunjoong do. I’m placing her in my “could be better, needs more experience” list.

Anonymous

But, why compare it to the lowest bar, yes kim hyun joong is not a great actor but why is it now if your a little bit better then Kim Hyun Joong your passable.

Anonymous

This is like saying, “This celebrity is so classy…better than Kim Kardashian!”

There’s a lot of ‘in between’ in the spectrum, not everyone falls in the category “worst” or “best”. Just because Jessica can show a bit more expression than KHJ doesn’t mean she’s any good. It just means she’s 2nd last/near the bottom of the barrel.

Honestly, I found her very wooden and bland. And seeing her on TV for more than 20 minutes vs. 4 minutes on music shows was very, very different. The makeup in the drama somehow made her look less attractive, almost homely-looking and dull. She’s not vibrant, IMO.

Yoona can be bland, too, but that girl’s face is quite luminous. She’s not the most beautiful, but she draws your eye easily and keeps your attention.

since when is Hunyjoong’s acting slightly below passable?? That’s like giving him a 59/100 when really he’s in the negative quadrant through and through.

Anonymous

I’ve been waiting for her acting stint since I saw a part of hers on that Horror Movie Factory show SNSD was in where I was quite impressed.
She can act, a whole lot better than Kim Hyun Joong can. I love the guy but his acting.. not so much. However the plotline was not good. In my opinion, messy. I like Jessica (OK no I love, I totally stalk her on tumblr, etc), but I really didn’t get the point of her character being there. And her seizure acting wasn’t very seizure-like. Thankfully she didn’t make me cringe, like Lee Siyoung did whose character I somehow found extremely annoying. And like you said she does have potential. She just needs to work on expressing her emotions a lot more (in modelling too tbh) and I reckon she can be making a name in dramas.

My wish is that directors or producers or whoever is calling the shots really audition their cast. Do you know how many unknown rookies who are probably a billion times better than the closest idol you can grab? I know this isn’t going to happen anytime soon, or ever, but I wish they thought out the actual acting talent. I’m not saying idols can’t go to being actors, but please cast people for their acting and not their pretty faces. Or if they’re better off as actors, don’t become idols. Don’t pretend to be rappers or pretend that people don’t know you’re horrible at dancing. Or if you’re funny, become a comedian. Or an entertainer on variety shows. The idol-driven K-entertainment structure is so stupid, it’s ridiculous.

My bigger issue is when idols are offered lead roles for their first ever acting gigs, like my beloved Yunho and Changmin. I don’t blame idols for trying out acting as a possible future career, but I’d rather see them start from the bottom, too. Get the small roles and go from there. Leave the lead roles for the real actors. How is the acting industry supposed to find the next big things in acting when idols are clogging up the lead roles? There hasn’t been a hotshot new actor since Lee Minho and Jung Ilwoo started out around 5 years ago. Same goes for the girls.

Anonymous

I completely agree with what you’ve said, but you’ve forgotten about Kim Soo Hyun! (His breakout role was Dream High though he was getting more attention from his childhood roles in Will It Snow for Christmas and Giant).

Anonymous

Isn’t Kim Soo Hyun is an actor, not an idol?

Anonymous

I think she’s talking about the statement about no hotshot new actors since Lee Minho and Jung II Woo. Kim Soo Hyun obviously is that hotshot new actor.

She did ok. well maybe except the seizure part. But this drama is just bland.

Anonymous

You know it’s good acting when you feel like it’s a real person’s life, not when it leaves you thinking about the three different personas the actor carries or when you obviously see she’s a person acting. I’ve been in theatre for a while now, and watching kdramas just bum me out sometimes because these people are getting jobs that other talented actors should get. If you’re not good enough and you need “practice” by going on different dramas then just practice monologues, scenes, study different methods like method acting (lol). Her lead in a musical was different though. Musical theatre is a completely different ball game from straight theatre and from what I’ve seen from her singing and decent acting (I’m being a little easy on her here) I’m guessing she did a remarkable job in Legally Blonde. :)

Indira Lima Guedes

She’s an horrible actress, period. She should just keep her idol carreer and stay away from dramas, giving the chance to newbie young actors to shine. I loved Wild Romance, but casting her was definitelly a disapointment to me. Just to add that I have nothing against the girl, I just think that she should focus on her talents as a singer and stay there.

Honestly Jeuong Hee was a difficult character to play that I don’t think Jessica was ready for. In someone else’s (more confident) hands I would have loved this confusing antagonist that bonds with Eun jae despite losing the man she loves to her. I think it had a lot to do with her character having depression, so the constant mood swings were difficult for her to keep up with.

I know it’s weird but I rate an idol actor’s acting and how into the character they are by the way the walk on screen. Like Kame at the beginning of any of his dramas, Jessica never lost her idol swagger though the type of character she was playing was more of a thoughtful artist with a simple child like heart. There was never a point were I thought Jeuong Hee when I looked at her it was always Jessica.

Agreed. Jessica’s lack of acting experienced wasn’t enough to to play a complicated character like jeonghee. She was basically just reciting her lines and trying to emote what the script tells her to, but a more experienced actress would be able to give it her all into the role and execute the character better.

Anonymous

Sadly, she didn’t boost the ratings since they kept getting lower and lower. At one point they went as low as 3.9. But I don’t blame Jessica because the show was already tanking before she got there. I stopped watching after the second episode. People will tune in out of curiosity if they like a star but if that star’s new character doesn’t improve things much people will bail. With TMTETS fever going on this show just had no hope. I love seeing my idol biases in dramas but in some cases I feel they should seriously hone their acting skills before trying to tackle anything big (eg. a lead or second lead in a prime time drama). One of the reasons I loved Secret Garden is it went on to be a pop culture phenomenon without a single idol in the cast. Part of me almost wants some of these dramas to suffer ratings wise because there are so many strong young actors out there. This was made extremely obvious in the first six episodes of TMTETS. They shouldn’t be robbed of solid roles because idols with limited acting talent are getting them instead. The more dramas that do well with idols, the more networks will use them instead of talented young actors. I look at someone like Minho (Choi that is) and as an idol he’s definitely taking the right approach. A little one ep KBS Drama Special here and a little 10 ep late night drama there. I think he really wants to be a good actor and he’s not trying to insert himself into anything big until he knows he has skills. Idols should stick to doing 50+ daily and weekend dramas with huge ensemble casts until they actually gain the skill to take on those lead and second lead roles in the major dramas.

Anonymous

I’m really enjoying Minho in Salamander Guru. I think Sitcoms are so much better for Idols than dramas. Idols don’t have the time it takes to commit to a serious role especially an untrained actor. Sitcoms are good training ground for acting I think. These super emotional drama roles should be strictly given to actors.

Anonymous

I second you. I also enjoy Krystal’s role in High Kick. Idols don’t have what it takes to tackle heavy role yet (well, some of them have perhaps, but it’s like one in a million).

Mer

Where are you watching Salamander Guru?

Anonymous

There are some subbed episodes on kshownow.net and YouTube. The real guru is hilarious and episode5 has drunk Minho.

I really appreciated Lee Si Young and Lee Dong Wook’s acting capabilities with her on screen next to them.

Si young’s face is marvelous to watch while Jessica sorta has this dead fish look in the eyes. It’s like watching a non-human barbie acting. =/ Maybe if I had understood what she was saying would have helped me warm up to her more??

Anonymous

I thought she was awful. Even when she was supposed to be having a break down in one episode it was completely monotone and lifeless. That’s probably why she spent most of the later episodes laying in bed like a rock. Her face was blank and devoid of any emotion during the whole series.

honestly, i don’t think she was the right choice for this character. I think someone with more experience in acting field… wait that is incorrect.. (more experience doesn’t always = being a great actor) i mean like someone who is a master at acting should have taken on this role instead of a person who hasn’t master the skill yet. This character is a complex one, its not going to be easy for someone who hasn’t master the art of acting… even a non-idol rookie actor could have fail to express this character.

I have no problem with idols taking on an acting job cause they are idols who actually do have knack for acting.

My problem is when idols don’t take the time to learn about acting. Before they jump on doing a drama/movie, they should take on acting classes first. I don’t mean those crash course in acting. I don’t care if they got a million and one things to do, if they can’t take the time to learn how to act then they shouldn’t take on this acting jig in the first place.

Anonymous

That was a great quote you picked. Most of the time, she was pretty bland and confusing and not as in-character as I would like (seriously, walking around like she’s on the runway- it gave her a bitchy, snobby air when her character isn’t a bitchy person). And she has no chemistry in her acting with Lee Dong Wook (so little it seemed like negative chemistry zapping the life out of the drama). The there are moments that make me really like her. And she does have quite a bit of chemistry with Lee Si Young. I could almost imagine them as sisters in some long weekend drama.

erie victor

Was she great? Absolutely not, but she did okay for her first role and I appreciate her trying something challenging even though she can’t handle that type of role yet.

I do think she has the potential and still has a long way before she gets there.

And as for this occurrence of acting coming left and right out of SNSD, I don’t blame the girls.

Primarily for the reason that they don’t actually have anything of their own and because their music isn’t really doing anything major (IMO, except for their American promotions and their Japanese material which is the best SNSD has ever put out). Especially since they have no real control over anything except for what is outside of SNSD. The girls are maturing at a rapid rate and some faster than the others. And I am happy to see some of the girls milking what they can out of the group and solidifying themselves outside of the group.

Tiffany: Fame
Sunny: Catch Me If You Can and MC of Music Islande
Yuri: Fashion King
Yoona: Love Rain
Jessica: Wild Romance and I guess fashion Icon

I feel like five out of the nine or doing something besides waiting for the next group activity to come which gives me something to expect after the group disbands years from now. The member who has me wondering the most is Hyoyeon. While its pretty evident that Sooyoung will act. Seohyun, I’m not exactly sure she would still be an idol in the near future. And Taeyeon will most likely be a solo singer, but I feel like she fears the concept of it.

Hyoyeon………..good lord girl please take advantage of your new found popularity and milk what you got because just as you came into the spotlight, you can quickly be placed back in the dark. And who fault will that be?

Anonymous

You just reminded me that I have to stay away from three of the upcoming dramas, with the exception of Fashion King, because my love for Yoo Ah In and Lee Je Hoon is that big.

I think she should just stick to being an idol. Acting is not for her…

Iam Nuggets

She was luke-warm. Sometimes passable, sometimes bad but not barf-worthy terrible. I count this as her debut and for a debut it was pretty good; better than a certain other idol turned actors debut in another hot-mess of a show (*cough*BoysBeforeFlowers*cough*). To be honest I don’t think its fair to judge her harshly since she didn’t have much to work with in terms of plot and characterization. WR was a wild and whacky ride–and not in a good way. I’m sure she wasn’t the only one floundering for a life-boat while they shooting.

Anonymous

I think it’s already been proven for both dramas and variety shows that casting idols doesn’t exactly equal high ratings. Many of these shows they’ve been on have had the lowest ratings and in the case of the idol filled Family Outing 2, those low ratings led to cancellation. TMTETS just recently received the most money for overseas broadcasting rights and the only idol in the cast was Siwan who wasn’t a big name before he did the show. So if the only reason these producers are casting idols is to make money, maybe they should focus on producing a better show instead. Any idol who hasn’t really proven they have acting skills should be made to audition with all of the trained actors for a main cast role in a major drama. If they’re not good enough for the part, they shouldn’t get. A major drama should not be an idols training ground. Their poor acting skills become glaringly obvious when they are surrounded by people who know what they’re doing. If their agencies are hell bent on getting their idols into the acting world they should make sure they’ve got skills first. If they’re already getting those roles despite their lack of skills they should still be working on them until they’re solid.

Anonymous

I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. Well you know, at least she doesn’t make me cringe like Kim Hyun Joong did but what he does better than her is express an emotion correctly. When I read the post, I was like.. what could be so confusing about her acting? Even how bad it was, we might even still understand a bit but damn, you guys were right. She is confusing! I think she’s trying to be mysterious but because she just can’t express the emotions well and just leaves us confused. And now honestly, I think she’s successful in not being overdoing some scenes like the usual rookie but it seems like she hasn’t grasped who she is and honestly, she has limited facial expressions. She’s gonna do okay in Banjuns but in real dramas like these, it’s gonna be a long while. You could really see the difference when you compare the acting of Dongwook to her.

Though she wasn’t the best, she really wasn’t that bad. And tbh, Jeonghee was a really complex character to begin with. Not only is she schizophrenic, but she doesn’t play a set good or evil role. Jeonghee herself was confusing. Of course, Jessica isn’t the best actress either (both to lack of training and experience. I don’t think she lacks the talent necessarily). She did leave me very confused.

Basically, Jessica needs more experience to play this role. It’s her first real acting experience (musical acting is VERY different from drama acting) and she doesn’t have the skills to pull it off yet.

I don’t think she’s an extremely horrible actress, considering it’s her first drama ever. Somebody here compared her to Yoona, but it’s kind of unfair, since Yoona was trained for being an actress even predebut, while Jessica was focused on singing and dancing.

I think it was the wrong role for her. Playing a shizophrenic person is even challeging for more experienced actors. Maybe a nice straight-forward side role like the best friend of the lead character would have been perfect for her.

She also had an extremely busy shedule, flying back and forth from US, Japan, Korea gave her no time to prepare properly.

So yeah I’m a fan, but I admit that although it wasn’t horrible, she wasn’t exactly good here…

Anonymous

I don’t think she was bad (i’m trying to finish this drama right now, but am getting bored of it so i’m surfing the net the same time). She’s just not good. Yes, I agree with the bland statement. I think part of the problem is, she’s an unnecessary part of the story. I understand why they put her there though, because of the low ratings.

Michael Park

You’ve pretty much summed up how I feel about all the idol actors so far.

I don’t know if it’s because of the way they’re casted where writers want to put in an idol because of who they portray as an idol, or for their inherent loyal base of fans and ensured viewers, or simply for publicity. It seems like idols that have acted so far usually just play the same kinds of roles or they can’t break out of who they are (in other words I’m trying to say that they’re horrible actors optimistically. Ha)

I will praise UEE though because so far she’s really proven to be a versatile actress. While I can’t say that she’s ‘amazing!’, she’s definitely shown that she can break out of who she is as ‘UEE” and play different roles where I can actually remember her as her role instead of UEE.

I will be honest and say that Park Yoochun is ridiculously overrated and Yoona is nothing more than a pretty face. I thought she did a good job in her first role but quickly realized she’s just being herself.

There’s a difference, although subtle, between acting and being able to cry/laugh/smile/shout on cue. Too bad none of this really matters because in the end, idols will still be casted, their adoring fans and media will still praise and gawk at ‘OMG AN IDOL CAN CRY ON CUE” and no one really cares more because they’re pretty faces and in Korea, pretty faces are treated like royalty.

hm.. jassicas acting was not good but i still enjoyed the drama. from the comments i got that
TMTETS is popular drama in korea, it’s strange,cus i was able to watch only 3 eps and than just gave up on it.

Sica wasn’t amazing,but she also wasn’t bad for her first time acting.

Krisztina Szabó

am I the only one who actually liked this drama? wtf is wrong with me? :D I watched every single episode and it wasn’t boring at all (for me) Jessica is such a cutie, my heart melted everytime she smiled but I have to admit, her acting is pretty strange (because of her role was weird too lol) She is still a rookie but I don’t think she has no talent in acting.